Hello all. I'm new here and I hope that these boards will provide a good source of help for me in these bad times.

A little background first though. Before this, I was a carefree energetic 20 year old who just went about his day as normal. My day would usually consist of going to college then coming back home to play some games into the night then repeat the cycle the next day. Every now and then I would go to the occasional party and whatnot but in general I was pretty much a carefree spirit. Recently on sunday APR 26 2009, my dad was having symptoms of a stroke while I was asleep. My mom was there but wasn't aware he was having issues walking normally or talking normally because this was in the way early morning hours where we had just woken up from sleep. Once they found out my dad was struggling they took him to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a blood clot induced stroke SIX hours after the initial attack. I did some research and this ruled out the tPA clot busting drug and I arrived there soon after to be hit hard by this.

I didn't know what to expect, but hoped for the best. My dad is now 62 years old and this is his first stroke. I'm scared to talk to the doctors because for the past 2 days, everytime I talk to them its just to hear some bad news. At first when I arrived there he was awake but couldn't hear us when we talk or focus his attention. He was unable to move the entire right side of his body and face. After they diagnosed him with a stroke, they sent him into the cardiac care unit and began to feed him asprin and other drugs that they said would help. About an hour after the drug feeding, he started to hear us and could pay attention to us. He heard us and from what we believe understood us quite well. He knew how to nod and shake his head but when asked to talk he would say mumbling gibberish words. We thought this was a good sign because he regained a portion of his personality and the ability to see us and understand us quite quickly but the following day the doctors gave me some bad news when I entered the visiting area. They told me that the stroke was quite large. It took out 2/3 of his left cerebrum and atm they're unsure of anything. They also explained something about plague in his neck area. They also showed me the most recent scan of his brain which indicated swelling of the portion that was damaged. Now today I call my mom who is already there and asked if he is improving. She told me it looks like he's getting worst. She said he seems quite tired today and unable to focus his attention and she feels that when he does open his eyes, his vision has been impaired unlike before. He would look in some strange places for no reason. When the doctors ask him to follow their finger, he does so perfectly, but when we ask if he can see, he shakes his head in a no fashion. The doctors confirmed that he is able to see but they decided to give me more bad news like I feared today. Apparently the reason 2/3rd was taken out was because of the fact that 1 of his 4 main arteries which brings the blood to the brain was clotted fully and they can't unclot it in fear that once they unclot it, the brain will be overflowed with sudden blood that he will bleed in his head causing another stroke. They said they will unclot it but not for a couple of months until it heals. They told me that they're very surprised and that we are very lucky that with a stroke this big, my dad is showing less problems than they imagined but they said with a stroke this big, his chances of recovering functions is not looking good.

I'm sad and confused at the moment and unsure of what I should be doing next. My finals are in 2 weeks and I'm unable to do any sort of schoolwork whatsoever. I can't even focus enough to go back to my regular agenda. Eating has become hard on my family and I as well knowing he is in this condition. I can't bare to see him like this and I'm supposed to be strong but I feel like I'm about to break everytime I see him helpless on the bed. So I want to ask others who have been through something similar to this, what are the realistic expectations for this? Should I be hoping for him to ever have movement in his right area again and should I be hoping that he could ever speak again? Also is there anything I personally can do to aid his recovery? I read that music can help him regain vocal abilities. Any information will be much appreciated! Thank you very much for listening.